Home Alone
by Leonard Church814
Summary: Peter Parker was brought back from death, now life can return to normal...almost. Not everyone came back and no one can explain why. It’s up to Spider-Man to uncover the secret behind those missing few.
1. Beat Up by a 100 Year-Old Veteran

**I've been out of writing for a bit, a lack of resolve and will to write makes laziness a bitch to get rid of. But I think I'm finally getting out of it. It only took the realization of two of my fics not actually gonna work to get back to it, more on that later. So, with the release of Endgame, my Spider-Man love is through the roof and ideas aplenty. So, spoilers for Endgame…as for "Far From Home", this takes place before it. No idea what's gonna happen in it but I don't have any place for it. Enjoy.**

**New York**

When Peter was a boy, he was scared of heights. The fear of falling was a common phobia, which was why letting go of the monkey bars on the playground was such a hard thing for young Peter to do. But it was when his uncle, Benjamin Parker, taught him how to let go and not be afraid of heights did he finally cross the monkey bars.

With one last thought of Uncle Ben, Peter let go. The wind rushing passed his face, the weightlessness of it all…one could say it was exhilarating.

Down and down did Peter go, the flat surface of New York's sidewalks getting closer and closer. It made Peter more anxious every second he kept falling so he closed his eyes. Thinking of better days. He almost missed the alarm.

"Pull up!"

With a quick reveal, Peter opened his eyes to see that the sidewalk that was once almost one thousand feet away had become only a hundred and getting closer by the second.

Peter turned his body upwards and shot out a web-line, pulling him up at the last second and swinging him into the air.

Below the (rather few) people marveled, not at Peter Parker-the kid from Queens-but at the Amazing…Spectacular Spider-Man.

"You got a bit too close to the ground Peter, want to talk about it?"Inside the suit was the artificial intelligence known as Karen, named by Peter himself.

"I'm fine Karen, just pushing myself a little bit. What's the police scanner like?"Looking to change the conversation, Peter pushed the question aside.

"Relatively low, lots of confusion actually. But, there was a reported break in at a bodega 5-blocks from here."

"Got it, bodega…5-blocks." The map on Peter's H.U.D. quickly pinged the location and Peter raced to it as fast as he could.

New York was always a noisy city, from the Trains, to the traffic; to the people…it was certainly not everyone's first choice to live at. But it was Peter's home, and he wouldn't change it for anything. Which was why hearing it so silent unnerved him, a lot.

Everyday Peter had to remind himself that it wasn't 2018 anymore. The year was 2023 and for 5 years, half of all life in existence was dead. Peter was dead for 5 years. Every morning he'd wonder if it was all a dream: that a purple gauntlet-wielding space-Hitler didn't come to Earth and beat its strongest heroes. That he didn't go to space and fight on an alien planet…that he didn't die. But he _did_ die, he _did_ go to space, and Thanos _did_ wipe out half of all life in existence.

He didn't want to think about it.

"Make the next right and the bodega will be the third store-front on your left."Karen said, piercing Peter's thoughts.

"Thanks Karen, this'll take a few seconds."Peter turned onto the street and saw the Bodega.

As he stopped in front of the door he could see the people inside ducking, with one man standing-erratically at that-waving a gun around.

Slowly Peter approached the door, not wanting the crook to turn to him. He walked to the front door, and opened it. With a pull, the door made a jingle and Peter cringed.

"Stop right there!"The man with the gun turned to Spider-Man, shaking.

"Hey, man, it's cool. No need to get hasty. Everything is okay."Peter motioned to the man, showing himself as a non-threat.

"Okay!? You think this is okay!? Nothing is okay! When has anything in the past 5 years, EVER BEEN OKAY!?"The man shouted.

"I know it's been rough, but everything can go back to normal now. Everyone came back."Spider-Man said.

"NO! Not everyone's back! Where are my kids!? WHERE ARE _THEY?_"The man got closer, he started to cry and tears came from his eyes.

"I don't know, but waving your gun around isn't going to bring them back. Please, what would your family think? You aren't the only one who's lost someone."The man shook more, and Peter feared he didn't get through to him.

He dropped the gun and fell to the floor, crying. Spider-Man stood by the man and consoled him. He wasn't the only one to lose someone after-all.

**Up-State New York**

Peter felt the hard-mat of the floor again, and groaned from the punched that caused it.

"If Steve knew you were just a kid, I don't think I'd hear the end of it from him."The voice originated from Bucky Barnes, the former-Winter-Soldier.

"Thanks, that completely makes up for the last 5 minutes."

The Avengers base was rebuilt, with help from Dr. Strange and a few of his fellow wizards, it was like nothing happened. And that hurt just a little bit more.

Bucky put his hand out (not his Vibranium built arm) and pulled Peter up.

"So, what's the lesson this time?"Peter asked.

"You're holding back."

Peter sighed, "I can't fight at full strength, I fight normal people…crooks, thugs, gangs…while you fight…I don't know super soldiers?"

Bucky gave a short laugh, "Fair point, but you were holding back against me. I could feel it."Bucky picked up a bottle of water he had laying beside the wall, and took a quick gulp.

"Well yeah, if I punched you I think I could knock your jaw off. Not exaggerating."Peter took a gulp of his own bottle of water as well.

For the last few weeks following the fight against Thanos, Bucky saw it fit to get a little revenge against the bug that took him and Sam down at the airport in Germany those years ago. It was his surprise to see not a 20-something with a big mouth…but a 17-year-old.

Since then Bucky changed from kicking his ass to teaching him how to fight better. Not to say he didn't get his payback, but he did it with justification now.

"You didn't seem to hold back much back in Germany."Bucky noted.

"Well that was when I thought you were a wild super-assassin that bombed the U.N. now I know you're a wild super-assassin that _didn't_ bomb the U.N., which is infinitely better in my book."

"Fair point."

Peter checked the time on his phone; it was about time to head back home.

"Looks like this will have to wait until next week; sorry to end your ass-kicking until next week but some of us have lives to live."Peter collected his bag of clothes and made to leave the workout room.

"Alright bug-head, good excuse. Just don't stay up late past bed-time."Bucky called out, receiving a less-than appropriate gesture from Peter (one May would certainly disapprove of).

After a quick change of clothes, Peter made his way to the garage, with a quick press of his key fob, the blue Vespa rung with the all-too familiar chirp.

Exiting the Avengers base-however-was a tricky thing these days; notably because of the horde of reporters outside the compound asking for an interview.

The effect the Avengers have had on the world was notable, not one day went by without someone thanking the Avengers for bringing everyone who was lost to Thanos. Unfortunately someone had to explain the intricacies of what happened, which is why Bruce Banner was chosen. Frankly he was the most normal person to fill the role.

Peter chuckled at the thought of it, the big green former-rage-monster at the United Nations explaining space-Hitler to everyone. It was certainly a welcome thought.

"Phone call form: May Parker."His phone rang.

With a click, Peter answered the phone, "Hey May, was just leaving the compound. What's up?"

"Oh nothing, just calling to say that Ned came by asking for you, he's decided to stay for dinner."In the background, Peter could make out Ned's distinct voice asking if Peter was on the line.

"Tell him I'll be back in an hour."

"Alright, well I'm making your favorite wheat cakes, so get here fast. I love you."

"Love you too, May."With that the phone turned off and Peter made his way back to Queens.

**Queens**

It was already nine-pm when Peter returned, the sky was dark and the streets were cleared of people. After securing a parking spot for his Vespa, Peter went into the apartment he shared with May. As he opened the door he could smell the delicious wheat cakes that May promised, and made his way to the dining table.

"…then I said, well yeah being gone for 5 years sucks but we've essentially time-traveled…and then I was kicked out of the room."Ned was still here.

"Well Ned, next time you talk about it, try to keep in mind not everyone is taking it well."

Peter walked around the corner to see May and Ned at the Dining table having their fill of wheat cakes.

"Hey, I'm back."Peter declared after dropping into the chair to have his share of food.

"Welcome back man, I was starting to think you would be a no-show."Ned said again as he stuffed his face with a wheat cake.

"I live here."

Ned nodded his mouth full of food.

"Before you two start talking about _work_ sit back and enjoy the food Peter."

Dinner was just the three of them, it was almost perfect.

After dinner, it was Ned's turn to talk with Peter. So the two of them went into his room to discuss Peter's _job_, which is what Peter described his relationship to Tony Stark as after May learned his secret with the people who knew.

"So Ned, what's so important you had to come over for dinner?"Peter asked.

"Okay so you know how I go to the docks to fish with my grandpa sometimes, and you always say '_Go to a different pier, drug runners use those piers to smuggle._' and I tell you '_But my family have been fishing on that pier ever since my great-grandpa caught the biggest fish in New York all those years ago._' and then you sigh and say-"

"Ned…just get to the point."Peter interrupted his spiel.

"Oh, right. Well anyway I was out there last night, just minding my own business when I heard some people talking about a shipment. Now normally I don't really like eavesdropping on people but they were talking about making a big hit on a shipment later. It sounded like they were scoping the place out, because they just sort of walked around the place."

"Okay, when did they say they were gonna hit the shipment?"Peter asked.

"Tomorrow midnight, something like that. But they were also talking about the shipment; they said it was A.I.M.-tech."

A.I.M., Peter remembered that name from a conversation with Mrs. Potts. They were one of the companies that came up in the world Post-Snap, along with Oscorp Industries. Peter didn't know a lot about A.I.M., only that it was a tech company based in California making branches across the U.S. and it caused a great amount of headache to Mrs. Potts.

"So you want me to go to the docks and bust this job? Fine, I can make some time tomorrow, I've been kinda free this weekend."Peter said.

"Nice, you need backup? Say…a guy in the chair?"Ned asked.

"No thanks Ned, I have Karen for that."

With a sigh Ned made his way to the door, before stopping, "What's the Avenger's mansion like?"

Peter raised his eyebrow in confusion, "Mansion?"

"Yeah, those buildings up-state."

"Ned, that's a base."Peter said.

"Does it rooms for the others?"Ned asked.

"Yeah but…"

"A workout room?"

"Ned…"

"A recreational center?"

"…"

"It IS a mansion. That's so awesome. See ya Monday."

Alone, Peter decided that rest was the best idea for him now. It was already ten-pm, and if he was going on a late night stake-out it was bet he'd get sleep for it. Maybe when he'd wake up this time, the last 5 years would have all been a dream.


	2. A Date with the Devil

**AU: So, I thought I knew what Far From Home would be…but that last trailer threw me for a bigger loop than Endgame. I may have to redirect some things but not the larger story.**

**New York Piers**

Peter followed Ned's tip and decided to look into the job he described the night before. But like any other part of New York, the piers look deserted apart from the few people on the job.

As Peter surveyed the area he couldn't help but wonder what was in it for the robbers to steal from A.I.M. Was it corporate sabotage? Someone funding them to steal for some wealthy CEO? Or were they apart of Adrian Toomes old crew looking to leach off another tech company? That reminded him to look into Liz and see if she's doing well, he owed it to her for putting her father into prison after all.

"You look like you're brooding."

Peter turned around to see the other red-themed vigilante keeping New York's streets clean, Daredevil.

Their meet-up wasn't the friendliest; Peter had just busted a drug deal that Daredevil was looking into. After a heated discussion Daredevil left, and they met again the next week cracking down on the supplier of the drugs from their previous interaction. After that their relationship status turned from 'It's complicated.' to 'Acquaintances'.

"Don't worry; I'm not encroaching on your brooding territory. Just thinking."

"You're waiting for something? A deal?"Daredevil asked.

"No, one of my fri-informants told me of a hit about to take place here. A bunch of thugs looking to get their hands on A.I.M. tech, I was gonna stop it. Want to join?"

Daredevil stood, the answer was obvious.

"We're gonna want to look around closer if we want to spot them, let's go."Daredevil leaped off the roof, making his way to the piers.

Spider-man quickly followed after him.

The security was minimal if there was any to speak of. Peter hadn't seen a single person at the front gate. Making his way through the Pier he couldn't even find any roaming guards.

"No security."Daredevil surmised.

The duo made their way from building to building looking for the thugs, eventually, they found the one building lit up inside.

"Split up, I'll take the west side, you take the east side."Daredevil said.

Inside the building, Peter spotted the thugs Ned was talking about. Brandishing guns, wearing ski-masks, and big.

"Where is Bo, he was supposed to be here 2 minutes ago?"One of the thugs asked.

"He said he was taking care of security, let him have his fun. He was caught up in that space crap a few weeks ago."Thug #2 said.

The first thug cursed, but the language was foreign to Peter so he couldn't make it out, "Call him and tell him to hurry back, the van is almost here. If he isn't back in 5 minutes he's being left behind."

There were 5 thugs (not including Bo), stood around a wooden box. "Karen, what's in that box?"Peter whispered.

"Unknown, any scan I take of the shipment is inconclusive."

Across the room, Peter could see Daredevil crouched on a steel beam, one look between them and Peter understood. He picked his target and sprung from his perch on the ceiling.

With a heavy thud, Spider-Man landed on one of the thugs, on the opposite side of the room Daredevil did the same.

"What the-!?"Was the only words Thug #1 could get out before Spider-Man leaped on to him with a strong kick to the face.

With a quick glance, Spider-Man could see that Daredevil had taken out the other three thugs.

"Good work, let's hurry up before more of their friends show up."Daredevil made his way to the box the thugs were surrounding.

"You sure that's a good idea? For all, we know it could have like, a robot protector if we open it wrong."Daredevil looked back at him.

"Just an idea," Peter said.

Daredevil opened the lid, instead of a high tech box, the only thing inside was a smaller metal box.

"Prototype, do not open," Peter said.

With a quick inspection, Peter saw a number pad on the side.

"You want to open it?"Peter asked.

"Be my guess. What about this was so important?"Daredevil handed him the box.

Karen scanned the box, finding the buttons that opened the box.

"The code is 146-66."Karen declared.

With a quick press of buttons, the box opened revealing the device inside…with a small piece of paper. Peter picked up the paper and read it.

"Prototype 4.0…ready for markets next year…guaranteed to find…mutants?"Peter read off.

"Mutants? Why would these thugs be…"Daredevil turned back to the knocked out bodies behind him only to see they were gone.

"What mutants is this talking about?"Peter looked at the small device; it looked like a typical syringe-gun.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it isn't safe to keep it here. I don't like this, not one bit."Daredevil said.

"I'll look into this, I have some people I can talk to, and I'll scrounge up what I can."Peter put the syringe-gun and paper inside the metal box and pocketed it.

"You sure about that?"Daredevil asked.

"These thugs just tried to steal a box for finding 'mutants', that isn't a usual gang's normal prize. I know some people, meet back here tomorrow night?"Peter asked.

Daredevil gave a nod and the two left the scene, the only evidence that anyone was there was the opened box.

**Queens**

School was…awkward, to say the least. Post-snap things started to wind down a lot; institutions had a hard time starting back up with fewer people around. After everyone was brought back, it took a while before those institutions started back up again. The public school system was one of those, what were the hundreds of thousands of kids in America to do except for going back to school?

And so here was Peter, in his sophomore year of high school. As much as things changed during the 5 years half of all life was dead…somehow Peter's class of friends (acquaintances?) remained the same. Michel, Flash, Ned, Cindy, Abe…heck even Mr. Harrington was still the same as they were when Peter left for space. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Like him, they were robbed of 5 years of their life, like him they had people who missed them and moved on.

"Hey, Peter, you there?"The voice of Peter's longtime friend Ned pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good. You need something?"

Ned looked at him, a quick flash of worry spread across his face before his usual demeanor came back, "Just wanted to ask about the job last night, you didn't get back to me so I didn't know what happened."

Peter sighed, the bus ride to school was not the right place to be talking about this, "I'll tell you later Ned, meet me outside the school during lunch period and I'll fill you in."

"Sure…so…how've you been lately?"

Peter looked at him; did he seriously just ask that?

"It's just…I mean the only thing we talk about is 'work'." Ned finger-quoted work.

"I'm fine Ned."Peter dismissed his question…honestly, Peter was fine.

"Oh don't be like that, it's not every day you…"Ned looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation, "…go into space and fight a lunatic trying to kill half of all life in the universe. Then you came back, fought in a huge battle against an army of aliens alongside the coolest heroes ever…"

"Ned!"

Peter turned to his friend, who looked a bit shocked to be yelled at. Peter himself was breathing heavy, he only just noticed it. Peter put it aside, after shaking his head he turned back to Ned.

"I get it, a lot of stuff happened. But I'm fine. Can we stop talking about this?"

The rest of the ride to school was quiet, aside from the background noise from the rest of the bus.

Their awkward silence kept up for the rest of the day. The two didn't talk; instead, Peter decided to shut his brain off for the rest of the day. Instead of being the "teacher's pet" Flash had always labeled him as; he kept to the back of the class.

Did Ned's recount of the last 5 years really unsettle Peter that much? He didn't think so, he had been crushed under an entire warehouse and managed to get himself out of that mess. What was this to him?

For the 2nd time that day, the bell rang and Peter was set to go to the gym. Peter sighed on his way to the school gym. He felt bad for yelling at Ned, he was his best friend…he had to apologize for it.

When he entered the school locker room, he hadn't spotted him. So with a quick change of clothes, he packed his street clothes into a locker and headed to the gym.

As he entered the gym, it was like nothing changed. The girls were talking on the bleachers, a few of the guys were shooting hoops, and Ned sat on one end watching it all.

Peter steeled his nerves and made his way to him to apologize when a whistle blew.

"Alright kiddos, everyone line up over here."

Peter turned, and his stomach plummeted. The two men who had entered the room, they were the thugs from last night. On their shirts, the name tags read 'Hi My Name is: _Bo_ and _Burns_'.

This couldn't have been a coincidence. These men were here for him. Did they know? How? He left the syringe gun back at his room. No way had they known he was Spider-Man…at least he hoped.

As he stood still from his peripherals Ned came walking by, oblivious to his predicament. Quickly Peter latched onto his shoulder as if he was having a conversation with him.

"Ned, I need to tell you something really~ important."He whispered.

Ned, in turn, looked to him in confusion.

"Those guys are the thugs from the job last night!"The two of them walked to the front of the gym, trying to avoid being suspicious.

"Holy shit, do they know?"Peter nervously glanced to the two men; they were surveying the group of kids.

"They don't look like they know who I am but they are obviously looking for me."

Peter and Ned both nervously walked to the front of the gym where the two 'gym teachers' were waiting.

"Alright kiddos, we're doing something different today. You see, today we'll be doing some nostalgic throwback sports."Bo clapped his hands together, a smile started to form on his face.

"Dodge ball, I'm sure you all know the sport. Get hit, get out."Burns grabbed a red plastic ball from behind him, the threat went over the rest of the others head but Peter understood it very clearly.

"There is a catch, you won't be fighting each other, and all of you will be throwing the balls at us! That way we can make it fair."Bo's innocent smile grew a little too much, and Peter didn't know what to do.

Peter had to think, these men were here to kill Spider-Man…and they knew he was in this gym. Maybe he could faint being weak? No, that'd be too obvious. He could whip out his Spider powers…but that would partly expose him to the rest of the class and he planned on keeping his secret identity for as long as he could.

"The game will be put into two parts, boys first…girls second. So get in place boys, we're gonna see which one of you is the one that beat us."

Peter swallowed nervously, this was really bad. But to keep the illusion up he followed the rest of his class and stood on the opposite side of the gym.

"Now, we'll be using…unorthodox balls. So don't worry if they sting a little."

The bag Bo picked up look like a normal bowling ball bag, but the balls inside them were anything but normal. They were large and red…and made of rock and fire! He looked at everyone else; how were they not freaking out at balls of fire and rock!?

"Ned, I don't think those will leave just a sting."

"I don't know man, they look kinda normal."Peter swung his head in confusion.

"They're made of fire and rock!"Peter hissed.

"Are they?"Ned scratched his head.

He looked back to Bo and Burns and realized his mistake too late. They heard him; the two of them looked at him with glee. This wasn't good, not at all.

"Game on!"

**Authors Note:**

**I apologize for this being out late. I was caught up writing another new story but it's been killing me trying to write it so I decided to come back and finish this chapter. Some old PJO fans might remember this scenario from Sea of Monsters (I believe). Well, I thought what better way to start this adventure off with a throwback. It might be a little unfair to take so much from what's already been written but I figure that an easy beginning is better than slaving over how to best implement the themes of this story into how it'll start. There is a little Easter egg I put in here, much like how Marvel does it. I wonder if anyone will recognize it.**


	3. An Innocent Game of Dodge Ball

**In the spirit of old PJO, I brought back the weird ominous title names from the original series. I missed them during Heroes of Olympus but I suppose Rick apologized by bringing it back. But let's get back to the story.**

**Midtown High**

Peter once thought that being Spider-Man was the weirdest aspect of his life. Then he was recruited by Iron Man and that was the weirdest part of his life…then he went to space…the rest beat the previous weirdest part of his life one after the other. So when Peter thought that two gym teachers throwing boulders on fire at him at school, he could honestly say this wasn't in his top 10 weirdest experiences.

A fire boulder blazed passed him, hitting a part of the wall behind him. The resulting debris splattered across their half of the gym, causing the rest of the class of kids to scatter.

"Stop moving, I can't get you out if you keep moving!"Bo yelled, picking up another fire boulder.

Burns threw another boulder, again impacting the wall. Peter had to go into action, he had to stop this!

Peter stood back up, ready to attack.

"Hey you dumb trolls!"

Peter turned his head to the voice and saw its origin. Right beside the bleachers was a girl; he had absolutely no idea who that was.

The girl charged the two men, who chucked their fire boulders at her. The girl dodged it, she rolled underneath the boulder and took out…

"Is that a slingshot?"Ned asked beside him, somehow not already behind the bleachers.

Peter snapped out of his stupor, he had to act.

"Ned, get everyone else out through the fire exit, I'm gonna help fight these guys. Go!"Ned nodded and followed Peter's directions.

Peter sighed and went to help the girl against the boulder throwing wacko's. As the girl pelted the two men in rocks, Peter jumped on the closer of the two (Burns) and caught his head with his legs bringing him to the ground.

"You messed the wrong school!"Peter said, restraining his right arm with his own.

"You took something from us; we're here to take it back."Burns growled.

Even with his enhanced strength, Burns was able to struggle out of the hold Peter put him in (he had to thank Bucky for teaching him that one). Burns pushed Peter off of him and went straight for one of their boulders.

Peter wished he had his web shooters on him; maybe he should make some inconspicuous version of it in the future. But for now, he had a couple of wacko's to beat up.

Peter rushed Burns, kicking behind his knee to bring him to one knee. Burn turned and swiped his arm in an arc that Peter jumped over. As he landed to his other side, Peter sent his right arm rocketing towards Burns face hoping to knock him out in one punch. It was stronger than his usual punches, but seeing as there were people in danger and a gym in shatters he'd make in exception for Burns.

Unfortunately it seemed that Burns was made of sterner stuff. Sure the punch connected, but all it did was stun him for a second before he turned back with a grin, "That all you got? Please, my ma hit's harder than that."

Burns rushed him, swinging his arms wildly. It was obvious he didn't have any formal training; he was completely reliant on his strength to beat his opponents. Peter let Burns throw a few punches, and watched him. Another lesson Bucky taught him was to watch his opponents. Sometimes going in fighting wasn't the best decision; he had to see what Burns was capable of.

"Gee, now I owe him."Peter lamented.

Burns threw another punch, but Peter dodged out of the punch and grabbed his arm. With a forceful yank Peter lifted Burns off the ground and slammed him onto hard maple wood floor. The impact was harsh; Peter had to use more force again this time. Maybe Bucky was right about a few things after all.

"Ow."Burns groaned as he picked himself up.

Peter could only stare in disbelief; no way could he have gotten up from that. There was enough force behind that throw to break a few ribs. Who were these guys!?

"I know that face all too well, the face of someone who doesn't know yet."Burns chuckled, rolling his shoulders as he did.

"I've seen that face in hundreds of kids your age and younger, those who never quite understood what they were born into. I'll enjoy the next face you make when I pick the meat off your bones."Burns smile grew even more sinister as he popped his neck.

Was this guy a damn cannibal?!

"Get away from him!"

Peter turned to see the origin of the voice; it was from the same girl who was caught fighting Bo. Who was nowhere to be seen, only floating dust from where he once stood.

Burns growled, "So, you got Bo. You dumb Satyrs aren't as weak as I hoped you were…or maybe Bo was just too stupid. Either way, I'll kill you too!"

Burns rushed Peter, his spider-sense ringing to move.

Peter did a big summersault over Burns, who looked confused why Peter wasn't in his hands already. Turning back to Burns, Peter went on the assault again, precision punches to Burns face, chest, and stomach. The punches were again stronger than his arm throw like before.

Peter yet again threw another punch, but this time Burns caught it with his hand. Peter used his left hand to push him back but that was caught as well.

"Now how about you stop annoying me you dumb demi…"Whatever he was gonna say died in his mouth, because as he fell to the ground the girl from before had gotten behind Burns and stabbed him in the back.

Peter watched as Burns fell to the ground, watching as the air escaped his breath. When he hit the ground, Burns body was turned into dust; the same kind that was at Bo's body when the girl came to his help.

Peter looked in horror, was he dead? Did she kill him?

"Come with me, you have to hurry, or else other's will come and find you. It'll take these two sometime before they come back but its best not to risk it. I know you have a ton of questions…"The girl spouted out, but Peter didn't care to hear it.

"You killed him."Peter's eyes scowled at her, she seemed to be aloof to it.

"Oh man, of course I get one of _those _people."The girl sighed.

"You're just going to ignore that?"Peter pointed to where Burn's body used to be.

"Look, I know this is confusing, I've seen this happen a ton of times before…like every month. But you have to trust me; I'm here to help you."She stuck out her arm.

"Who are you?"Peter more demanded than asked.

"My name is Willow, I've been here looking for you…well people like you. It's my job to keep you safe."People like him? Peter was not appreciating the vagueness.

"Stop with the vague talk, who were they? You seem to know more than I do?"Did they work for a rival tech company? A.I.M. must have made enemies, but to hire a cannibal was a strange decision.

"Even if I tell you, you will just say I'm crazy. Like the last 50 people I've had this exact same conversation with!"

Peter thought about it for a minute, he was curious about what Willow was proposing (she obviously knew more than him) but…

"I can't leave yet, I need to check up on a few things. Is there a place I can meet you? Maybe tomorrow?"Peter asked.

"Ugh, you people are so annoying. Just come with me and I can help you!"Willow pleaded, she seemed like she wanted to help him…or she was a good actor.

"I don't know if you saw already but I can handle myself, look, just give me your number or something and I'll find you and then we can talk."Willow groaned.

"Fine, you can find me at Montauk, at the end of Long Island. Just please don't die before you get there. I like to keep up my streak."Peter looked at her incredulously as she walked out one of the gym walls that had broken during the fight.

"Oh and don't worry about explaining, I'll do that too!"She yelled as she ran off.

Peter looked around the room to get a sense of what had transpired.

Every wall (excluding the roof) was caked in boulders that had its fires long since die out. The bleachers were broken; again boulders had broken many of the seats. It was now that Peter realized what exactly Bo and Burns had been throwing, boulders the size of him. Who were those guys!? And the phones of other people were all strewn across the room.

"Parker?!"

Peter turned to the entrance of the gym to see Principal Morita looking in horror, obviously at the ruined state of the gym.

"Principal Morita I can…"

"I thought I knew better of you Peter, but a thief? My office, now."Peter himself was left speechless.

As he followed Principal Morita to his office, Peter concluded that today had officially been the weirdest day of his life.

**Queens**

Three rings went by before the phone on the other end picked up.

"Hello, Pepper Stark speaking."The tired voice of Pepper spoke.

"Hey Pepper, it's me Peter, you got a second?"

Peter sat on his bed, today had been a long day.

"Oh, hey kid, yeah I got a few minutes to talk."Pepper's voice relaxed; obviously dreading another business call.

"I got a few questions I need to ask you. I'm looking into something for my job. I was hoping you could explain it."

"Of course."Pepper could visualize her sitting up straight.

Peter pulled his phone back to face and sent the pictures he took of the syringe gun he 'took' from the shipment the other night. Another second later and Peter could hear Pepper had received it.

"Where did you get this?"She asked.

"Daredevil and I busted a job the other night; they were specifically looking for this. Do you know what this is?"A few seconds of silence went by.

"Unfortunately no, that goes the same for the pamphlet. This is from A.I.M.?"Pepper asked.

"Yeah, had its logo stamped on the box it came with, what do you know about A.I.M.?"Peter asked.

"A few decades ago Tony met a man by the name of Aldrich Killian. Tony wasn't the same back then, so the two got off on the wrong foot. Fast forward a few years ago Killian came back with a company, it was A.I.M. Unfortunately Killian was less than legal and was working on a gene therapy called Extremis. Killian was going to use Extremis as a way to profit on the American war economy, and kill the president, but thanks to Tony we stopped him. I don't know how A.I.M. had survived since, and that's all I know. A.I.M. isn't a very talkative company, it's privately owned as well. Whoever funds it and what it does with its money is up to whoever is working there."

Peter sighed, obviously getting less than what he hoped for, but it was a long shot to begin with.

"Thanks Pepper, say hi to Morgan for me. If you ever need someone to watch her, you know who to call."

"No problem kid, stay safe out there."The call disconnected.

Peter fell back to his bed, today was exhausting emotionally. Fighting Bo and Burns at his school, having that frustrating conversation with Willow, and get expelled for a week from Mr. Morita for trying to steal other people phones. Maybe that's what Willow meant by not needing to explain what had happened in that gym.

Then he had to call Ned to see if he had gotten out of there alright, and he had to meet with Daredevil to discuss what had happened…then he had to talk to May!

Peter groaned and pulled the sheets over himself. He'd do that later.

**Some of you may recognize I never gave an apt description of Bo, Burns, nor Willow, see I don't care about having a paragraph dedicated to a characters looks anymore. I'm more of the opinion that the reader will make their own description of a character not already introduced. Unless it's important, I don't mind not giving a description of characters anymore. With that out of the way, I think I'll try to work on my other Spider-Man story after this, I don't know when that'll come out cuz it's coming out a bit long and I'm having a hard time to start it. Either way I hope you enjoyed.**


	4. My Parent is Who?

**Now that both of my new stories are up to the same chapter count I will now continue updating Home Alone. Also, this one will be a bit longer than most.**

**Queens**

Peter woke up early the next morning, and after having a quick talk with May, he left his apartment to find where Willow sent him.

Driving on the streets of New York, Peter received a phone call over his earpiece.

"Call from: Matt Murdock."

"Answer. Hey Matt, sorry I had to rain check last night."Peter answered on the phone.

"I assume you have a reason for not showing up last night? I was standing on that rooftop for almost an hour."Matt said with a little disdain.

"Some of those thugs from the other night found me, and started throwing flaming boulders."There was silence on the other end for a good minute.

"I'm not joking, look I think I have a lead and I'm taking it. I'll try and get back to you if I find out something more."Peter said as he started leaving the city limits.

"You do that, I have some work to do in Hell's Kitchen so keep me up to date."The call ended and Peter was left alone to drive to his destination.

Peter has never personally been to Montauk other than passing by. So noticing the thick forest on either side of him was a little disconcerting. It even gave him a sense of dread, like any second Bo and Burns allies could ambush him.

Peter tried to ignore that feeling, in the back seat compartment his suit sat in case he needed it. He hoped he wouldn't need it but a part of him felt like he would.

He kept driving down the road when he saw a peculiar sight. It was Willow, standing beside the road. Was she waiting for him?

Peter slowed his Vespa until he parked right in front of her, "You've been waiting for me?"Peter asked.

"Good you're alive, I didn't know if you'd survive. Come with me, you can bring the bike too."Willow waved to follow.

Peter got off his bike and walked behind her with it, "So, who were those men the other day?"

"First, they weren't people. They were Trolls, and they were there to eat you."Peter looked at Willow like she grew another head.

"Excuse me, did you say Troll?"Peter asked.

"Oh, here we go. Okay, in a few minutes everything you know is gonna be turned on its head. So hold off questions until after you see what I'm trying to show you."Willow continued to guide him up the dirt road to a wooden sign he couldn't read.

"What's that say?"Peter asked.

"You can't read that?"Willow asked.

"No, should I?"Willow looked at him questionably but continued walking on.

They continued to walk until they reached the tip of the road. In front of him was what Peter could only assume was a summer camp. Cabins were arranged in a horseshoe shape with more cabins off to the left. There was a bigger cabin to the far right side and a whole mess of other camp-like facilities. The only thing that caused some questions to arise was the number of swords in everyone's hands. If it wasn't swords it was bows, knives, maces, shields, and more medieval weaponry.

"Why'd you take me to a middle-age themed camp?"Peter asked.

"So you see this?"Willow asked.

"Yeah, what's this have to do with Bo and Burns?"Willow sighed and gave a small smile.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, and all your questions will be answered.

* * *

As the two of them made their way down from the entrance he could see kids come and go. They went each which way and most of the time they wore armor to it. As he walked with the people he could see a rock-climbing course WITH LAVA! The heat resonated from the lava and somehow no one was freaking out. Further away he could see a field full of people practicing sword fighting; to his right, he could see another group of people practicing archery. A stray thought entered his mind as he spectated.

'_Maybe this is where Clint learned how to use his bow_.' Peter mused.

"Peter, come meet the camp activities director, Chiron."Willow introduced him to a man in a wheelchair.

Chiron was talking with another camper before directing his attention to him, the camper in question walked away seeing their conversation over.

"Ah, you must be the young man Willow talked about. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood Peter, I believe you have a few questions."Chiron put his hands on his lap like he had gone through this a dozen times before.

"Willow here says that the two men who attacked me were Trolls and that they were there to eat me. What is she talking about?"Peter asked.

"Ah. Tell me, Peter, what do you know of Greek mythology?"Chiron asked.

"No more than the next person."Percy shrugged.

"But I feel like the next person does know more than me."He said looking to Willow.

"Peter, those myths aren't just stories, they're real. The men that attacked you were indeed Trolls, and monsters-literally-like them feed on people like you a half-blood. When Willow killed those men, they didn't die; their souls were sent to the Underworld. Soon they will return, monsters like they don't _die_ as most people do."Peter stared at him like he too had grown another head.

"You don't believe me," Chiron stated.

"I have a hard time believing most things these days," Peter said.

"Well, let me show you proof."Chiron put his arms on his wheelchair handles like he was prepared to stand up.

Behind him, Willow put her arm on his shoulder, but he turned back to Chiron to see that he did, in fact, stand up. Except instead of regular human legs, they were replaced with the body of a horse.

"Y-you…You're…"Peter stammered.

"Yes Peter, I am a Centaur, specifically I am the immortal teacher of many classic heroes. Achilles, Hercules, Atalanta, and Jason of the Argonauts…these people I have trained when they were young and since then I've trained many more heroes. This camp is a place for people like you Peter, a safe-haven to learn how to defend yourself and learn the dangers of this world."

"People like me?"Peter asked.

"Peter, at the top of the road there was a sign before you entered this camp. Unseen by you or anyone is a magical barrier that stops any that doesn't meet the qualifications from entering."Chiron pointed to the sign at the top of the hill.

"What qualifications?"Peter asked hesitantly.

"To enter you must have a connection to the Greek Pantheon, for people like me and Willow it is because of our race."Chiron motioned to the two people in front of him.

"Your race, what does that meeeeea…"He turned to Willow who had thrown off her pants to reveal goat legs.

"I'm a Satyr; I go to schools like yours and find people like you. When I find them I bring them here or the closest equivalent."Willow explained.

"Peter, Satyrs all across America look for special people like you. You, Peter, are a child of a god."

Peter turned back to Chiron, "What?"

"One of your parents is a god, Peter. Immortal being who is a part of the Greek Pan-"

"I know what a god is," Peter has met one in fact.

"You're saying one of my parents was a god?"Peter asked.

"_Is_ a god."The word change didn't fall on deaf ears for Peter.

God, when was the last time Peter had ever thought of Richard and Mary Parker? It had to be years at this point. Probably not since Uncle Ben died had he even gave them a passing thought. How could he? He was too young to remember them, and when he heard the news of their passing he couldn't seem to care, he didn't even have enough time to know them. Ben and May had been his parents, but hearing that one of his parents was not only alive but an immortal being…

"I don't believe you," Peter said.

"I can see your hesitation, but have you ever talked with…"

"Both my parents died in a plane crash. The police found their bodies, I can't believe it."He refused to believe it. His parents died more than a decade ago.

"I'm sorry for your loss but there is no other way you can be allowed in this camp, Peter."

"What about you, you said races that have a connection to Greek myth can enter. Maybe I'm some race?"Peter argued.

"Not possible, we'd know, and if we didn't you'd know. Also, not every race is allowed, some of the others are alive simply to kill half-bloods."Peter frowned.

"Okay well then tell me who my godly parent is," Peter said.

"It's not so simple; the gods have their own lives and work to fulfill. We can't take you to them unless you go to Mount Olympus, and even then the gods don't simply allow walk-ins. Tonight, you will learn your godly heritage, after dinner, all the new campers will be introduced and they will be claimed."Chiron explained.

"Claimed?"Peter asked.

"A symbol of the god will appear over your head, depending on the symbol it will tell us who your parent is," Willow told him.

"Peter, tell me. Have you ever been on a plane?"Peter reminisced of all the times he's been on a plane.

"Yeah."No need to tell of his fight with The Vulture over New York.

"Has your plane rides ever felt like they didn't go well?"Again he remembered his joyride of the alien ship that he hung onto when Thanos' generals came to earth.

"Maybe a few times," Peter said.

"Hm, do you like swimming?"

"Not more than the next person…that is to say not much," Peter said.

"When he came up to the entrance he couldn't read the welcome sign," Willow mentioned.

"Did he now? Tell me, Peter, do you have A.D.D. or A.D.H.D.? Do you often find it hard to read?"

"No, not really," Peter answered honestly.

"Strange, almost every child that comes through here has those."Chiron stroked his beard.

"Is that a bad thing?"Peter asked.

"Not particularly, see they aren't hindrances they are a part of your heritage. The A.D.D. is to help you focus on life or death situation and dyslexia helps you read ancient Greek. So either there is a change coming in demi-gods such as yourself, or you are the luckiest demi-god to not have to grow up with them in the mortal world."Chiron said.

"Thanks?"Peter took the compliment.

"Anyway, you should talk with Willow to see what you can do here. She told me you to have a knack for hand-to-hand combat so you can start with wrestling with the Ares cabin. For now, I must go, I believe I have a meeting with the camp councilors. Have a good day Mr. Parker."Chiron took Peter's hand and shook it before leaving.

"C' mon, let me show you around.

* * *

Peter sat on a nearby bench on his phone trying to find any reception. Unfortunately, it seemed that nothing was available to Peter.

"You shouldn't bother with phones; they telegraph your position to monsters. They also don't get any reception with the magic barrier in the way."Peter looked up from his phone to spot a boy about 18 years old.

"Uh, hey," Peter said.

"Hey to yourself, my name is Connor Stoll."Conner stuck his hand out.

Peter took his hand as Conner hoisted him up, "I'd welcome you to our little land of crazy but it seems that Willow got to you first. So how you holding up, I know for first timers like yourself it can be a little too much."

Honestly, aside from the possibility of one of his parents being alive, Peter was doing okay. Wrestling with the Ares cabin wasn't as bad as Willow made it out to be. Sure the kids over there looked like they had been bodybuilding since they were 10 but when he met them he knew they weren't as strong as him. Sure they were strong, abnormally so, but Peter could stop a bus of people going 50 miles per hour down the highway. Like most parts of his regular life Peter didn't show off, he didn't expose his abilities. Why should he? He didn't know these people, Chiron claimed that in some weird way they were all cousins twice removed or something like that. But to Peter, they were all strangers.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed."Peter lied.

"Well you won't be for long, c' mon food is being prepped soon you don't want to miss it."Like the rest of his day, Peter followed Connor.

"So I imagine you got some questions Chiron didn't have the time to answer for you," Connor said.

"A few, there's a lot to take in but, how does nobody know about this place?"Peter gestured to their surroundings.

"That's a good question, with a good answer. See, mortals can't quite comprehend what they see all the time. It's why they can't see monsters; they can only see what they comprehend. If a satyr goes strutting across New York without a disguise they won't see their fuzzy rears. It's what we call the mist. It's an abstract force that separates both our worlds. The gods, us, and all sort of mystical shenanigans get caught up in it."Connor explained.

"What about Thor, he goes around parading in armor and a big axe but people seem to see him well enough?"Peter asked.

"Ah, yeah Thor. The Norse gods are a bit different. But I don't want to overburden you with even more crazy."Connor scratched the back of his head.

"Also, why are there kids at a camp during the school year? Don't they need to go to school?"Peter asked.

"Oh definitely, you've come when most campers are off doing their regular lives. Some of us, however, stay here year-round, not all but a few here and there. Others just help when they don't have anything going on."As Connor finished his explanation the two of them made it to the dining hall.

Well, it wasn't necessarily a hall; it was out in the open with lines of tables stretching across a small field no bigger than half a gymnasium. People ate in groups, with each table designed in its own way.

"At Camp Half-Blood, everyone is divided on who their godly parent is. Now, most of the times you get to hang out with your cabin except for the odd occasion. For one, if the person's godly parent hasn't claimed them yet, or two, if you're a kid of the big three but we haven't had one of those in decades. You'll be sitting with the Hermes cabin since it's been the traditional cabin most newbies stay with until they're claimed."Connor pointed to his table, a lively one full of laughter.

"Who are the big three?"Peter asked.

"It's Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus. They don't have many kids, mostly because they signed a pact to never have another kid. Although that pact was broken a few times."Connor said.

The two of them sat down, and in front of Peter was a plate. It was filled with food, he picked at it for a second just to make sure it wasn't somehow fake or magical.

"So, why'd they make the pact?"Peter asked as he chomped down on food.

"Well kids of the big three are often super strong, stronger than most average demi-gods. One thing leads to another and eventually, things start to break out."Connor said.

"Like?"Peter pressed.

"Well, World War 2 wasn't totally of human design."Peter looked at him in disbelief.

"World War 2?!"

"Yeah, a lot of world history could somehow be linked to the gods, of any pantheon. Many of its greatest people have a godly heritage. Politicians, pop stars, war generals, peacemakers, there probably aren't an aspect of life that doesn't somehow come from a god."Peter let that sink in for a moment.

"Like Tony Stark?"Peter blurted out.

"Ah, well not _everything_. Humanity doesn't change at the whim of the gods, we're quite independent. As far as anyone could tell, Tony Stark was as human as they come. If he was the child of a god we wouldn't hear the end of it from their parent."Peter felt a little better, Tony Stark didn't get his genius and his bravery from a god it was entirely him.

For the rest of dinner, Peter and Connor ate and talked. Connor told him facts about life as a demi-god and Peter listened. It has half fascinating and half terrifying, but so was being Spider-Man. Eventually, dinner passed and all the campers that were there met in front of all the cabins to roast marshmallows and welcome the new campers.

"The summer may have passed, but each day we find more and more brothers and sisters new to their heritage. And with each day we open our doors open for them, to learn and to grow and to become heroes. Let us all welcome them to Camp Half-Blood."A cheer rung through the crowd, Peter himself got a bit carried away as well.

One by one the new campers were introduced, and each was claimed by their respective parent. An Aphrodite son here, an Ares daughter there, the list went on. No kid was not claimed, and the idea that he'd soon learn the identity of his parent started to fully manifest in Peter.

He tapped his feet in anticipation he didn't even realize Chiron had called him until Connor had nudged him.

"Oh, sorry. Um, hi I'm Peter Parker."He waved shyly.

"Welcome Peter Parker, son of…"The moment of anticipation had come, and Peter braced for it.

And braced for it, and continued to brace for it. He looked at Chiron, whose smile had turned into a frown.

"Uh, Chiron?"Peter asked the Centaur.

Peter looked up to his head; his eyes focused what was above his head to see what symbol claimed him.

But there was no symbol. Nothing floated over his head to indicate who his parent was, no animal, no weapon, not even a word.

Silence filled the camp, not a single word was uttered.

* * *

"Mr. Parker, you don't have to go," Chiron said as he followed Peter to his bike.

"I have a home to go to Chiron, I can't just stay here," Peter said.

"I know tonight hasn't been what you wanted, I feel for you. Many years ago this was a common occurrence, there is no need to lose…"Peter cut him off.

"Look, I appreciate what you've shown me Chiron. I really do, but if they can't claim me I'll come to them. I heard from Connor that they're held up in the Chrysler building, I'll head there."Peter said.

Chiron fidgeted, his hands rubbing each other, "Mr. Parker, can you hold a secret?"

Peter stopped and turned to Chiron.

"What is it?"Peter said.

Chiron looked around before he approached Peter, so as to not let his words reach any unnecessary ears.

"The truth is Peter the gods aren't available. Not all of them came back."

Peter looked at Chiron. Oh, he knew that not everyone came back, he dealt with that as Spider-Man, but to hear that even gods were not exempt from Thanos' snap…it sent a chill down his spine.

"Most of the gods are all across the world, reassembling, but few haven't returned at all. We've been making by with a spell but even that isn't correct 100% of the time. The fact is that if you go to Olympus you'll find it empty. This problem is not unique to us, this problem is occurring is many pantheons as we speak and it's all that we can do until a solution is found. Only the most veteran councilors and the people I trust the most know about it, please, do not let anyone know."

Peter stared at Chiron, he who asked him to keep a secret. Peter thought for a moment-it usually only took that long-he didn't owe the man a thing. Everything he promised him never came to pass; his godly parent was either missing or reconstructing themselves.

"I won't tell any of the campers," Peter said.

"That's all I ask of you. If you plan to confront your godly parent still, I wish you the best of luck."Chiron said as he walked away.

Peter hopped on his ride and left the camp. After sending a quick text to May telling her he'd be back after sundown he made a call. It rang three times before it picked up.

"You calling for a reason pipsqueak?"Bucky Barnes answered on the other end.

"Bucky, are the Guardians there?"Peter asked.

"Yeah, why?"Bucky asked.

"I need to talk to Thor," Peter said.

As he turned onto the road, Peter made his way to the Avengers base. If anyone knew more about the gods, it would be the God of Thunder himself.

**The plot progresses.**


	5. Invaders

**Avengers Estate**

The funny thing about the Avengers Estate is the different people who live there. It's essentially a home for wayward heroes, with the likes of Wanda Maximoff and Bucky Barnes as it's permanent residents. But it wasn't just the people who lived there that accentuated that.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were a band of misfits who've saved the galaxy twice (well technically three times counting the fight on Earth against Thanos). But their newest inclusion was the weirdest of them all.

"Ah, Man of Spiders! It's so good to see you again!"Thor gave a big hug to Peter as they met for the umpteenth time.

Thor had been very responsive to Peter. Why? He had no idea. But Thor was always bound to laugh and be more joyful whenever he was around.

"Hey, Thor, how are you? Do anything notable lately?"Peter asked, giving the man a quick pat on the back.

Thor let go of Peter, and he could see how much Thor had changed since he last saw him. Gone was most of his belly fat, now he looked like a middle-aged dad trying to get back into shape.

"O, nothing much, me and the crew just doing a quick stop before going back out. Did you know Quill was born here? Honestly, he's set the bar quite low."Thor chuckled.

"Yeah. So anyway, Thor I need to ask you a few things, I assume you aren't busy?"Peter asked.

Thor had moved away from him and started to eat a big sub-sandwich. Where he got it from, Peter had no idea.

"Oh no, go right ahead! I'm just having lunch."Thor sat down at the dinner table and started eating his sandwich.

"But it's 11 pm."Peter looked down at his phone to confirm the time.

"It's lunch somewhere in the galaxy. So, what did you want to talk about?"Thor took a bite out of a sandwich.

"Thor, do you know the Greek gods?"He asked hesitantly.

"Oh, of course. I seem to recall a time when me and Zeus had a great argument some hundreds of years ago. He wasn't really happy how I kept using lightning. So I hit him with Mjolnir, and then he hit me with a few of his thunderbolts. Eventually, we both got tired and went our separate ways."

"Okay, so this is gonna be way easier to explain. Thor, do you know what's happen to the Greek gods?"

"Of course I do, plenty missing after our fight with Thanos. Didn't you know that the Gods are considered life?"Thor asked.

"I didn't know they existed until yesterday,"Peter told him.

"Well that's odd, your patron probably should have told you,"Thor said as he bit down into his sandwich.

"My what?"Peter asked.

"Your patron,"Thor said.

"Yeah, I heard that what patron?"Peter asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Your patron could be anyone, though I suspect it's your parent. Why are you asking me this, don't you know?"Thor asked.

"No!"

"Oh, that's awkward,"Thor said as he bit into his sandwich, which had already been eaten in half.

"Thor, did you know I was a demi-god?"Peter asked.

"Well of course. All Gods can tell a demi-god from a mortal like you can tell an ant from a prized ram."

"But those two aren't even close to being similar,"Peter said.

"Exactly, that just goes to show how different you are from the regular mortals. Honestly, I thought you knew. Though this actually explains why you styled yourself after a spider."Thor again ate his sandwich.

"I can't believe this."Peter rubbed his head.

"You should,"Thor said over the food in his mouth.

"Okay, so if you knew the Gods are gone…"

"_Some_ of the Gods are gone. A very important distinction. If all the Gods were gone the Earth would probably have been a hellscape years ago. Be thankful the other pantheons can supply their own Gods to help in that matter. Say, what did you need to ask me again?"

"Look, can you at least tell me which Gods are missing? So I can get a better picture of the situation?"Peter asked, frustrated.

"Oh, well let's see. Valkyrie told me last week, I think I remember. Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, oh and Hephaestus. Yep, them and some few dozen minor gods at least in the Greek pantheon. If you want the others, I'm going to have to pull up a list."Thor had finally finished his sandwich and stood back up.

"No, that's fine Thor. Well, I guess I got what I wanted."Peter shrugged as he sat on the nearest chair.

"What do you want Peter? Recognition from your parents I presume?"Thor asked.

"What?"Peter looked back up to Thor.

"You know what I see in you, Peter? I see a boy deprived of a father for most of his life and one that desperately needs one. From the brief time I've known you, I can see that from how you treated Stark as a man above all the rest. You aren't the first Peter, so I'll tell you this, temper your expectations better to do that than be let down. The Greeks are people like you, not even like me. They have a, shall we say, holier than thou attitude. Don't expect a warm and loving embrace."

Peter cringed a little, it was easy to forget that Thor wasn't just the couch surfing friend that like to hang out and not bother with serious topics. He was a millennia-old Norse god who fought against millions in his day.

"Thanks for the advice."He half-heartedly replied to Thor.

"I hope whatever outcome you expect comes to pass, Peter, but I wouldn't place any hope in that happening. I'm off to sleep for the night, will you be joining us? I'm sure there is enough room, Wanda could find you a place to rest."

"No thanks, Thor, I'll find a room for myself."

"As you wish."Thor left the room, leaving Peter alone.

Was Thor right? Was he just trying to get acknowledged by his possible parent? What if any of the Gods were his parents? Maybe Chiron had made a mistake, could he make a mistake?

Peter felt frustrated, he dove into this and didn't even know what he wanted. He was well off without this knowledge, for crying out loud he was Spider-Man! He was an Avenger! If his parent didn't acknowledge him now why would they ever? What could his possible Godly parents possibly give him that he didn't already have?

Well…closure for one. It couldn't hurt to track them down, he'd be helping people by bringing back the Gods. Thor said that if there weren't any Gods than the Earth would be in ruin. So they had to be important somehow.

But then again, he had no idea where they went. Plenty of people were still gone without knowing how to bring them back. How would Spider-Man be able to bring them back? He had just learned of this other side of the world he had no idea even existed until today, there were probably people way older than him that had a better grasp of the situation than he did.

"Now I'm just giving myself a bigger headache," Peter told himself.

He decided it would be best to just sleep here than leave and drive back to Queens. He made his way to the guest bedroom he had claimed for himself a few months ago. Everything was the same as it was where he left it. Unfinished formulas for different webbing, a spare web-shooter, spare costume…everything in it was just a spare. After shooting a quick text to May (and getting a reply back) he fell on his bed and fell asleep.

[line break]

Chiron was instructing a class in archery when his view spotted a particular person he'd hope return.

"Mr. Parker, welcome back, I'd hope you would."Chiron left the training to meet with Peter, who had just parked his Vespa beside the councilor house.

"Sorry for running off the other day,"Peter said as he removed his helmet.

"You wouldn't be the first to storm off,"Chiron said.

"So I've heard,"Peter muttered.

"What was that?"Chiron asked.

Peter sighed, "It's nothing. So, hypothetically, if I were to stay around what does a camper here do?"

Chiron smiled, "Well it's quite simple, this camp is designed to train you for the outside world. Monsters and all manner of horrible creatures lurk and want nothing more than to eat you. We train campers in all sorts of weaponry, if it's Greek then we teach it."

The two of them started to walk, around them campers did all sorts of activities that Chiron had listed.

"Seems kinda archaic. I mean, swords, bows, spears?"Peter asked.

"No, actually. Mortal weapons don't exactly work on monsters. Guns are quite an ineffective weapon."Peter scoffed at the idea, he'd been grazed by one too many bullets to think like that.

"You're the expert, so I'll believe you. What else? It can't just be that, it's a summer camp."

Chiron pointed to a spot near the woods. A group of some 50 campers had split up with armor, red and blue. "It isn't always so focused on survival, these are kids after all. We have capture the flag games on Fridays, the Apollo cabin teaches music lessons, we have first aid courses, all sorts of things. We used to have a swimming lesson, but our teacher has moved on. He's enjoying his time in college I believe."Chiron had a fond look on his face, like remembering an old memory.

"Well that's cool, I guess all I can say is 'Where do we start?'"

"Oh, come with me to the councilors house, we'll set you up in the Hermes cabin," Chiron said.

"Eh, I'm good. I don't want to take up any unnecessary space, besides I have a home I can go to. Plus I'm not free forever, I gotta go back to school."Peter said.

"Ah, I see. In any case, we do need to go to the councilors house, there we can find you a schedule. You may also meet our Camp Director, Mr. D is a good man. You just have to see through his…er, rough exterior."Chiron said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Peter raised his brow but didn't question it, Chiron seemed to know what he was doing. Probably because he's done it a hundred million times already.

[line break]

The councilors house reminded Peter of a living room with a ping ball table in the middle of it. It was homey, but it was all spoiled by the man in the leopard clothes who sat on the couch watching TV.

"Peter, this is Mr. D, our camp director. I'll be right back."Chiron said.

"Uh, hi," Peter said.

The man looked at him with a passing glance. "Typical, stuck here still and all I get is a _hi_. Everyone else gets to be scattered to the wind and I'm stuck here babysitting their brats."Mr. D ranted.

"Excuse me?"

Mr. D stood up from his chair, a goblet in one hand and a sausage in the other. "Do me a favor and feed Seymour would you?"Mr. D pointed to the Leopard head that Peter had somehow missed.

"Why would a mounted head need food?"Peter asked, just then the Leopard had started towards Peter expecting the sausage.

"Because it too feels the need for food. While you're at it refill this with diet coke, I would but I'm being a little lazy now."Mr. D handed him the goblet, annoying Peter.

"I'm not your maid, you can do it,"Peter said as he handed the goblet and sausage back to Mr. D.

"Oh, you're the resilient type, I'll be sure to have you do all the chores tonight."He said as he sat back down.

"Dionysus, I think that's enough,"Chiron said as he emerged from the stairs behind him.

"Spoil the fun why don't you,"Dionysus said.

"Weird name for a camp director,"Peter said.

"That's because I'm a God you dull nitwit, think twice before you mouth off in front of one."Dionysus started to get irritated.

"You're a God?"Peter asked, the person in front of him certainly didn't look like one.

"Yes, now run off before I turn you into a porpoise."Dionysus threatened him, at least Peter thought it was a threat. He'd never been threatened being turned into a dolphin before.

"Now now, Dionysus, no threatening the campers. Now Peter why don't we…"

BANG BANG BANG

The three of them stopped talking and turned to the door. Peter recognized that sound, it was the sound of gunfire.

Before Chiron could stop him Peter rushed out of the house to see the camp in devastation. Men in black Kevlar and masks had entered the camp all with guns. Many campers were too stunned to run away as they were hit with something, he saw a camper get hit by whatever they were shooting and spasm.

"By the Gods, Dionysus!"Chiron called to his co-worker.

Chiron charged with a bow and arrow that was slung to his back, Dionysus summoned vines to attack the invaders. They had to have expected Chiron because before he could defend his campers he too was shot down before he could make a difference.

"Dammit,"Peter swore and ran for his Vespa, inside the compartment he grabbed ahold of it web shooters.

"We have another here, proceeding to take down."His spider-sense rang for him to jump out of the way.

Peter did a backflip over the men that were about to shoot him. As he landed Peter swung his fist at the back of the first man's head, and roundhouse kicked him to the ground. The other guy was fortunate enough to turn around before Peter could attack him. He dodged the punch Peter sent his way and took out a stun baton.

The bad guy lunged at Peter attempting to knock him out but Peter dodged out of the way. Another swipe from the bad guy was all Peter needed to send a fist straight to his face, knocking him out.

Peter turned back to see many of the mysterious men had started to drag off campers, Dionysus himself was caught up in the fight too. Five other the men had grouped up against the God using some energy weapon that pushed Dionysus back.

Peter shot a web-line to one of the men and kicked him in the face.

"4-2 and 4-3 get the kid."One of the men said, leaving two other men to deal with Dionysus.

4-2 and 4-3 broke off from their attack on Dionysus and pointed their guns at him. Peter shot another web-line at 4-2's gun and swung it at 4-3, knocking both guns out of their hands. Frustrated, both men took out stun batons and charged him.

"Submit!"4-3 shouted as he lunged at Peter with his baton.

Peter dodged out of the way of both of the batons when he tried to punch 4-2 he was hit back by the electricity in 4-3's baton. Peter shot webbing at the both of them, making it hard for them to move their arms. Peter launched one in the air and yanked him down with his webbing, needless to say, he was out cold. But before he could knock out the other a force shot him back and into a strawberry patch of all things.

"We have enough, gather our wounded and let's go."The man who gave the order not long ago instructed.

Peter groaned the men he had knocked out were being carried back to the massive truck that was parked at the entrance of the camp. He looked to where Dionysus once stood to see he was lying on the ground not moving. Peter stood up and followed the men, shaking off the damage they had done to him.

Faster than he could realize, all the men had retreated into the big truck with campers sitting on either side wearing a collar. Peter started with a limp, then a jog, and finally started running trying to catch up before they left. He was almost there when he was shot by one of the men standing beside the truck full of campers.

As the back door started to close, Peter weekly raised his arm, his body already jolting from the electricity, and shot a spider-tracer before the truck left.

Peter would lay there for 5 more minutes before he passed out.

**I apologize for taking just under 2 weeks to update; I've been kinda in a rut how to write this chapter. In case you didn't realize, this is where things start moving. For a chapter or two the story kinda stopped but now we'll see it start to move faster.**


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